The Way of Cowards
by Scorpia710
Summary: Sequel to Anywhere But Here. "You saved my life in Brecon Beacons, I don't understand why," Alex said, voice softer than he would have liked. "Even for money…I wouldn't have killed you," Yassen replied quietly. Decisions determine destiny.


Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Alex, with all his talents, wit and that certain magnetism for danger, belongs to Anthony Horowitz. *Cries a river* Takes place at the end of Stormbreaker.

…………………………..

The shots were clean, the sound of twin bullets whistling through the air. The result, however, was extremely…messy.

Mouth opened, Sayle looked as if he would quite like to speak, but did not know. As if the blood that was starting to leak out of him had taken his knowledge of verbal communication as well.

Staggering back, he fell with a dull thump. Alex continued to stare, watching as blood bloomed onto the fabric of Sayle's white shirt like a macabre rose. Alex didn't feel that it was right that the blood should continue to flow even seconds after a person's death.

He stared at the twin spots, then looked down at his own shirt where pinpricks of dark red had stained the material. Slowly raising his head, Alex stared at the man who had caused this, _all_ of it.

Yassen Gregorovich stood prodding the body with his shoe, not even glancing up at Alex who stood close by. Looking satisfied that Sayle was dead and not pretending, Yassen tucked the gun away.

Alex stepped forward, wondering if he was submitting himself to death while he did so, but he was curious. And with Alex, if his curiosity was not sated, it was likely to get him killed sooner or later.

Yassen, as if noticing him for the first time, but not looking surprised in the least, looked up and met his eyes.

Neither of them spoke at first. Alex looked Yassen over for the first time. The man bore no semblance to deceive, unlike the fake smile Sayle had worn. He looked like a man who knew his job and did it well. There was no denying that, Alex thought, glancing down at the dead body between them.

"You're Yassen Gregorovich," Alex stated a moment later, crossing his arms and hoping it did not appear defensive. He peered closely at the closed face, hoping for a reaction.

Yassen nodded, clear blue eyes giving nothing away much to Alex's dissatisfaction. The man had saved his life for no apparent reason, and yet, he was a cold blooded killer, Alex had a corpse at his feet to prove it.

Feeling at a loss, Alex bit his lip. He had so many questions, and would any of them even receive an answer if he was to ask? MI6 would not tell him, not yet, they said. Did he even want to know the answers or would they add more confusion and oddness to his life?

"You saved my life in Brecon Beacons, I don't understand why," Alex said, voice softer than he would have liked.

"There was no reason for you to die." Yassen replied, calmly watching Alex. The Russian had no accent, his voice smooth as the gun he killed with.

"You killed Ian, he was my uncle, what reason did he have to die?" Alex responded. He could not help but feel frustrated and angry, there was something else to it, something no one would tell him.

"I was paid to kill Ian Rider," Yassen explained. "I was paid to kill him as well, he was becoming embarrassing," he carried on, looking down at Sayle with uncaring eyes.

"But, you weren't paid to kill me, so you just pointed K Unit off in the right direction?" Alex shook his head in obvious disbelief, and there was a notable pause. Even if Yassen had not previously known his unit's name, it did not take him but a moment to connect the pieces.

"Even for money…I would not have killed you," Yassen said quietly.

Surprised, Alex stepped closer. "Why?" he pressed, voice a hiss.

"You're a child, I do not kill children." The answer was sincere, but Alex was not satisfied.

"What about the people that take care of children? Mum's and dad's, you'd kill them wouldn't you? And because you killed my uncle, I'm _here_. Standing over the carcass of a man who a few minutes ago, had a gun to my head!" Alex said, his voice rising.

"How the hell is _this_, better than dying!" Alex swallowed when his voice cracked, trying to regain control when all he wanted to do was throw himself at this man and throttle him.

Yassen surveyed him silently. The steady rise and fall of his chest the only evidence of him not being a statue.

"You're still young," Yassen said, as if that answered everything. "There are things you don't yet understand--"

"Then tell me," Alex said harshly. "I need to know. They're going to use me again, probably. Although I'd like to think they'll leave me be, I'm not stupid enough to believe that."

Yassen surveyed him again, "What is the price of one boy, compared to that of a nation? Keeping you, and blackmailing you to save lives…no, of course they won't stop."

Alex felt his stomach fall, there was no doubt left as to what his future would hold.

"Your father," Yassen began quietly, face closed, "…he saved my life once, I respected him. You look a lot like him."

Alex blinked, "Is that why you won't kill me?" The wind brushed over them, and the smell of blood made Alex turn his head away.

"You're his only child…I don't want to kill you Alex, the time may come where I have to if you continue. My leniency is not endless, consider this your first warning."

Alex took a deep breath, shrugging his shoulder. "But I don't know how to escape it."

Yassen looked at him, light eyes intense. When he spoke, the words held a deeper meaning, "Running isn't always for cowards. Sometimes, it's the only way to survive."

It took Alex some long moments to decipher that, and when he thought he had, the idea was so--life altering, that he found it hard to fathom.

"You mean…I should run away?" Alex asked slowly, his voice so quiet the wind seemed to carry the words away before they could reach Yassen. When he received no answer, and saw the look of patient waiting on the man's face, Alex warily considered the fanatical idea.

Running? It seemed a rather rash decision, especially since this was just one mission. And with the bad guy dead, he really had nothing to fear--did he? MI6 had no reason to bother him now, he'd done what they asked….

"They don't really need me now," Alex said, in a voice that clearly said he was trying to convince himself. "I mean, I did what they asked," he trailed off as Yassen raised an eyebrow.

It was probably the closest the man ever got to, _"Really? Are you having me on or just stupid?"_

"How did you start to work for them in the first place?"

Alex winced. The questioned was said with a pointed stare, and Alex found himself answering resignedly.

"They threatened to send me to an orphanage, and said they'd send Jack back to the States…she's my guardian of sorts," Alex explained, even though Yassen didn't seem to care.

"And, even though that is all very illegal, you lean toward the idea that they'll leave you alone? I thought you were a bit brighter, Alex," Yassen said, disappointment hinting his voice as he brought a knife out of his pocket. For one quick moment, Alex expected the knife to come flying at him. He could imagine it digging into his stomach with lightening fast speed, and could see himself staggering back just as Sayle had.

But Yassen did none of that, although, he did seem to know what Alex had thought. He glanced at Alex, taking in the suddenly stiff posture and almost looked amused. Kneeling, he used the blade to tear open Sayle's fancy coat pockets without once touching the material or further marking the cold, dead skin beneath.

Taking out the wallet within, Yassen flipped through it. He took out the cash within and threw the cards, papers and now empty wallet off the building. Alex glimpsed the fluttering objects before they fell out of sight.

"Doesn't being a killer pay enough?" Alex asked.

Yassen counted the money, which seemed to be at least a couple hundred pounds. "My employer is not a patient man, and I am late. He will not pay me the full amount we agreed upon…but I imagine I'll have to kill him sooner or later, it all works out."

Alex found his arms covered in goose bumps at the end of that sentence and tried to hide his discomfort.

"I'm still waiting to see what you'll decide. Do you want out? It means starting over, and forgetting your friends, but it also means never having to bear the burden MI6 will continue to hand you. If you say yes, I can give you a head start," Yassen said, gesturing towards the aircraft before crossing his arms. "However, if you say no, I must leave now and hope to never meet you again."

Almost shivering again at those implications, Alex took a deep breath. Making a very hard decision in a very short amount of time had left him rather dizzy and for a moment he swayed. He thought of what he had now...then he thought of what he'd had before MI6 decided to use him.

Then, standing tall and finding an inner strength, he met the assassin's eyes. And with a unwavering voice, all the while knowing that this would decide his future, Alex gave his answer.

**Authors Summary: **…and you'll never know what his answer was, *laughs evilly*. It's a, 'What would you want his answer to be?' Or an Alex Rider version of, 'You choose the ending!' However, this is all there is to this story, I just wanted to write a scene where Alex meets Yassen for the first time, and considering how he saved his life in ABH, I wanted to see how differently they would act. **For the record, **the title does _not_ mean I think either Yassen or Alex are cowards, it just stuck. For update notices, first chapters, polls, and newsletters, you can join my Yahoo group or my twitter account! The links are in my profile.


End file.
